U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado called to tell him she was accepting the award in his honor. The White House had earlier criticized the Nobel Committee’s decision, claiming it chose “politics over peace” by recognizing Machado instead of Trump, who had openly campaigned for the prize.
White House spokesman Steven Cheung stated that Trump remains committed to “making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” asserting that “there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.” He accused the Nobel Committee of prioritizing political agendas over genuine contributions to global peace.
Speaking to reporters later that evening, Trump avoided directly criticizing the committee but claimed Machado’s gesture proved his worthiness for the honor. “The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called me and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it,’” Trump said, adding that although he didn’t ask for the award, he believed she might have given it to him if he had.
The Nobel Committee praised Machado as a symbol of courage and democracy, recognizing her as one of the “courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist authoritarianism.” Trump, who recently brokered a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, argued that his peace efforts merited recognition. He said his administration “ended eight wars” and claimed it would be “a big insult” to the United States if he were overlooked.
Although nominations for this year’s Nobel Prize closed before January 31, Trump suggested his past achievements should have been enough to earn him the award, asserting, “We did so much that they should have done it anyway.”